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PERTH, Australia (AP) — The Indian Ocean has gone quiet again in the search area for a missing Malaysian airliner damping hopes of finding the wreckage anytime soon after four signals were heard that could have come from the downed plane. No new electronic pings have been heard since April 8, and the batteries powering the locator beacons on the jet's black box recorders may already be dead. They only last about a month, and that window has already passed.
UNDATED (AP) — A rancher who has refused to recognize federal authority over grazing land has his cattle back. Federal land managers confirm that they released all 400 or so head of cattle rounded up on public land in southern Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management took the action after hundreds of states' rights protesters, including militia members, showed up to demand the animals' return to rancher Cliven Bundy.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Authorities are trying to determine if there was any serious damage or injuries from a powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake in the Solomon Islands. Officials say the early morning quake triggered large waves. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reports that sea level readings indicate a small tsunami may have caused some destruction near the epicenter.
CHALLIS, Idaho (AP) — Residents in central Idaho have been rattled by a 4.9-magnitude earthquake, the first in the area since 2005. The temblor flung items off walls but otherwise produced no reported damage or injuries in the sparsely populated mountain area.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (bah-cheh-LET') has declared the port city of Valparaiso a catastrophe zone because of a large forest fire. The blaze has covered the city in smoke, destroyed at least 150 homes and is forcing evacuations. The catastrophe designation puts the Armed Forces in charge of maintaining order and evacuating thousands of people affected by the smoke and flames.
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